Many years ago a song from the ’70s rock band Supertramp encouraged their fans to “Take
the long way home.” In some ways, all
e-bikes offer similar encouragement. But
while they make it easier to go the distance, there is always that hidden hand
holding you back—battery life.

“Together, the Impulse motor and the large battery ensure thatyou can indeed take thelong way home.” Like the Kalkhoff Tasman tested in the last issue, Focus bikes are part of the Pon Group and are built in theDerby Cycle Werke bicycle factory. Bothbrands use variations of the proprietaryImpulse center-drive assist motor. Derbyhas the sheer size to have a motor sys-tem developed rather than simply ;nd asupplier. In many ways, the choice paidoff big.

THE MOTOR

If Supertramp is still popular in
Germany, we can easily imagine a
Focus engineer toiling late at night on
an e-bike design with “Take the Long
Way Home” on the playlist. The off-road
version of the Impulse 2.0 assist unit is
smooth, quiet and responsive, but one
of the best aspects of the system is the
way it sips electricity from the battery.
And that battery is a full 17 amp-hours
rather than a more common 11 amp-hours.

Together, the Impulse motor and the
large battery ensure that you can indeed
take the long way home. With the Thron,
we felt free to run at full assist for large
percentages of every ride. If you are